Are You Looking at Me or Looking To God?

Thoughtfully reading my devotional this morning these words struck a chord within me:

*”Many of us have a mental picture of what a Christian should be and looking at this image in other Christians’ lives becomes a hindrance to our focusing on God.”*

Often I speak about the trap of judging others and pointing out what is not right with our siblings in the Faith. It is sometimes hard if not impossible to make it plain that we are NOT to judge for we shall be judged by the measure that we use. This is not to say we should not discourage one another from falling into the sinful temptations we may face and it is certainly not to imply that we should not encourage each other to continue on the paths of His righteousness. Yet many believers spend so much time pointing out the sins of others and casting the judgement net…they miss out on the true meaning of our faith.

We are to LOOK ONLY to God. There are enough worldly distractions to throw us off course without us hindering one another. We are to encourage one another in love and doing well. We are not to condemn and distract one another by pointing out who is the biggest sinner and passing judgement.

***Do Not Judge – Matthew 7:4-6…4“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.6“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.